argali

[ ahr-guh-lee ]

/ ˈɑr gə li /

noun, plural ar·ga·li.

a wild sheep, Ovis ammon, of Asia, having long, curved horns that typically form an open, outwardly extended spiral: rare or endangered.

Nearby words

arf, arfvedsonite, arg, arg., argal, argali, argall, argan, argan oil, argand burner, argand diagram

Also argal.

Origin of argali

1770–80; < Mongolian: female mountain sheep

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for argali

Indeed, to say that our common sheep sprung from the argali seems a very absurd theory.
The Boy Hunters|Captain Mayne Reid
There are several local races of argali, among which O. ammon hodgsoni of Ladak and Tibet is one of the best known.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5|Various
The Argali ranges over the steppes, or inland plains of Central Asia, northward and eastward to the ocean.
Sheep, Swine, and Poultry|Robert Jennings
It has sometimes been said that when the argali leaps from a height it alights on its horns, which break the force of its fall.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood

It is called by some the argali, by others the ibex, though differing from both of these animals.
Astoria|Washington Irving

British Dictionary definitions for argali

argali

argal

/ (ˈɑːɡəlɪ) /

noun plural -gali or -gals

a wild sheep, Ovis ammon, inhabiting semidesert regions in central Asia: family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla. It is the largest of the sheep, having massive horns in the male, which may almost form a circle

Word Origin for argali

C18: from Mongolian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012